Friday, January 11, 2008

Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is a form of dictatorship government that wants total control over its citizens; their public and private life. Stalin's real name was Losif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili however, on December 21, 1879, he adopted the name Stalin, which means "Man of Steel." In 1922, Stalin was made secretary general of the communist party. When Vladimir Lenin died in 1924 Joseph Stalin promoted himself as dictator of the Soviet Union. He was determined to transform the Soviet Union into a powerful industrial state. Stalin used propaganda, censorship, and terror to force his will on the Soviet people. In 1928, he launched his first five-year plan. The five-year plan was going to turn the country into a major industrial power within five years. The nation's resources were built into steel mills, electric power stations, and any other industries/supplies needed. There was growth in areas such as coal and iron output. Another part of the five-year plan was to set up large scale farms for peasants to work on. Stalin forced millions of peasants to give up their land and work on large, government-run operations. Soon after, Stalin became extremely paranoid and began to turn on members of the party he had once called supporters. This was the beginning of "The Great Purges". Through 1936-1937, Stalin personally signed 40,000 death warrants. Priests were rounded up and shipped to be executed because Stalin wanted everyone and everything to be the same/equal. By the end of the terror, less than 1,000 churches remained out of at least 20,000.